The invention relates to a patient support, having supporting elements which are pivotably connected to two parallel shafts mounted on a frame. The supporting elements are pivotably interconnected near their facing ends such that by pivoting one element, the other element automatically assumes a position adapted to this pivoting movement.
A patient support of this kind is suitable for examinations, for example encephalographic examinations or fluoroscopy by means of X-rays, as well as for treatment and care of patients.
German Offenlegungsschrift No. 1,940,646 discloses a patient support of the described kind in which the supporting elements are formed by a backrest and a seat to which a leg support is rigidly connected. Near one end, the seat is pivotably connected to one of the shafts mounted on the frame. At the other end, the seat is pivotably connected to an end of the backrest which faces the seat. Furthermore, the seat comprises a rotatable crank disc with two cranks. One crank is connected to the backrest by means of a coupling rod, while the other crank is connected, by means of a second coupling rod, to a second pivot shaft mounted on the frame. Due to this coupling of the backrest and the seat, the seat automatically pivots in the same sense as the backrest when the backrest is pivoted, and vice versa.
The described known patient support is comparatively expensive, because the seat and the backrest are coupled by means of a comparatively large number of movable parts. Moreover, the described known patient support has a drawback in that the seat and the backrest are pivotably interconnected near their facing ends in such a way that they pivot around an axis situated between said facing ends. As a result, the overall length of the supporting surface available for the patient, measured across the seat and the backrest, does not substantially change during pivoting. However, because a patient pivots around an axis which is situated approximately at the hip joint, the length of the side of a supported patient which faces the patient support changes when the seat and the backrest pivot with respect to each other. As a result, the patient will slide across the seat and the backrest of the known patient support. This may be annoying, particularly, for example, during examination of a wounded or sick patient.